Episode 139: Using Alternative Funding to Grow and Succeed in Your Business with Lisa Rodino – Transcript

Episode 139: Using Alternative Funding to Grow and Succeed in Your Business with Lisa Rodino

Rennie Gabriel  00:09
Hi folks, welcome to Episode 139 of the Wealth On Any Income Podcast. This is where we talk about money tips, techniques, attitudes, information, and provide inspiration around your business and your money. I'm your host, Rennie Gabriel. In past episodes, we spoke about how to understand the numbers from your business, how to measure the level of pleasure based on where you spend your money, how to track your money in 5 to 10 seconds, what determines how close you are to Complete Financial Choice®, and how to run your business without being in your business. Today, we have as our guest, Lisa Rodino. Lisa is a commercial loan broker and advises and helps businesses of all types and sizes gain access to capital through a diverse set of alternative funding options. Her mission is to help as many individuals and businesses as possible, grow and succeed by securing the financing and capital they need to build their future. She is also currently working on helping business owners access the employee retention tax credit, which is a non debt product. Lisa, welcome to the Wealth On Any Income Podcast.

Lisa Rodino  01:30
Thank you for having me.

Rennie Gabriel  01:32
You betcha. Yeah. Well, let's start with some questions. So, get an idea that you provide loans to businesses. But tell me why you're doing this?

Lisa Rodino  01:43
Well, originally, I had come from the medical field, and as I, you know, grew into that field, I realized that I was not able to access the patients anymore, because I was the director of a department. And I missed that. I love hearing people's stories. You know, folks are the walking history book out there. And as I decided to pivot, my husband and I had owned a residential lending company before, when the kids were all grown, it was time for me to get back to work. And instead of being in the basement of the hospital, we decided to go into business for ourselves. And, you know, we found that there's a lot of folks that are underserved in the smaller businesses. So I've made it my goal to help those folks get the capital they need to expand and grow their businesses, and to always be in a good position to get the best lending products that are out there.

Rennie Gabriel  02:41
Terrific. Thank you. Now, is there a particular charity that you support, as you probably are aware, I donate 100% of the profits from the work I do to various animal and veteran charities. Tell me about one of the ones you support.

Lisa Rodino  02:58
Well, when my son was young, he was interested in aviation. And we ended up meeting someone that introduced us to the Civil Air Patrol. Now, the Civil Air Patrol is an auxilary of the Air Force. And what it does is it helps to teach those children ages 12 and up about leadership, about search and rescue, about aviation, electronics, and help them to find a place and you know, carve a plan out for themselves. They get to be involved with folks that can mentor them and direct their path in life, which I loved being a part of. I was a volunteer. I was also a deputy commander of our squadron. And that's a place that I really believe any child, young lady or young man, can go and grow into the leadership. and I support them wholeheartedly.

Rennie Gabriel  03:58
That sounds not only great and cool, but a lot of fun for the kids who are involved, I would think.

Lisa Rodino  04:06
Yes, they get to take their flights at no charge to have the experience of sitting on that copilot seat and be able to fly the aircraft. And it's really neat. We have programs that they can go and learn about hang gliding as well.

Rennie Gabriel  04:25
That's, I mean, yeah, even at my age, I'm thinking of joining the Civil Air Patrol.

Lisa Rodino  04:31
That would be wonderful. We are always accepting volunteers. They have adult squadrons and cadet squadrons. So there's so much for everyone. 

Rennie Gabriel  04:40
Cool. I'm going to check into that. Thank you.

Lisa Rodino  04:43
Great. You are welcome.

Rennie Gabriel  04:45
Now tell me about who your target market or markets are. Who are you looking for as clients?

Lisa Rodino  04:51
Okay, well today and in the current future, right now I am looking to be in front of business owners that have W2 employees. And the reason why is because there are funds that are due back to them because of the COVID pandemic. And probably 90% of business owners are eligible for this. But too few are aware and know that they are eligible. Because the rules have constantly been fluid and changing since COVID. You know, I worked the PPP loans, and I got nearly a thousand small businesses the capital they needed. And they were told that you get either PPP funds or ERC funds. Well come to find out the rules changed, you can take both. And our teams will do a complimentary evaluation to determine if you are eligible, and if you are exactly how much. I have a team that they will, they've done over five thousand files with zero rejections from the IRS. And they get the numbers directly to the client for exactly how much they are expecting for them. And their file will be sent to the IRS overnighted within five business days.

Rennie Gabriel  06:14
I've got to admit, with the CRC credit, I hear ads on the radio, I get unsolicited phone spam, phone call. 

Lisa Rodino  06:24
Right, right. 

Rennie Gabriel  06:25
I see it all over the place. So it's hard for me to imagine that business owners aren't aware of it unless they've been hiding under a rock. But my question is, one of the things I continually hear is, this is expiring soon. When will this no longer be available?

Lisa Rodino  06:44
Well, the current administration has it set up that starting April 15 of 2024, the first portion will be expiring for that 2020 year. But with a new administration, and as those evolve in the government, they could be changing that because they're ready to declare that the pandemic is complete. They may decide to redirect those funds to other projects. That's why we're trying to tell people do it now.

Rennie Gabriel  07:18
Yes. But the idea that it's expiring soon, and it's going to be more than 12 months. It's not all that soon.

Lisa Rodino  07:27
That's correct. It's not all that soon, but it's the administration that could alter the rules is why people are probably stating that. And you know, we're a no-nonsense shop. We want to, you know, if you deserve it, lets get that back into your pocket so that you can utilize that for your business. And it's a non debt product. It is something that is because you had your employees and you paid the taxes of those payroll taxes.

Rennie Gabriel  07:58
You're in essence getting a refund of something you've already paid. 

Lisa Rodino  08:02
Correct. 

Rennie Gabriel  08:03
Okay. Well, now, let me ask you this, personally, or business wise, and I think maybe you hinted on it in terms of working in the basement of the hospital, tell me what your biggest either failure or challenge was, and what insight you gained from that, how you're using it. So it's a multi-part question.

Lisa Rodino  08:23
Yes. And you gave me a tough one there. When I was a teen, you know, no one listens to our parents, right? We know better than anyone. Well, I ended up expecting out of wedlock. So I ended up having a child out of wedlock at the age of 19. And my mother encouraged me to let one of my older brothers and his wife raise my son. And I thought, okay, you know, that was the only counsel I got, so I agreed to it. But things didn't end well. My son at the age of 15, the day that he was supposed to meet his next brother ended up in front of a semi.

Rennie Gabriel  09:02
Oh!

Lisa Rodino  09:02
So we lost him. He was 15 and full of life. And, you know, he snuck out that night and the car, you know, ended up fishtailing and flipping over and there was a semi coming at them at 50 miles an hour. They were going 80. So looking back, and I've seen other moms that had children out of wedlock, they raised their kids, their kids are still with them. I should have taken that task to myself and raised him myself. I'm sure the outcome would have been much better, but I can't go back and change it. I would just say you know, I take care, at this point, I take care of my responsibilities. I have three adult children now. We got them all to adulthood. And we're very blessed for that. You know, now we're talking marriages for you know, my oldest got married a couple of years ago. My next one's getting married at the end of this month. And my third son, I think, is getting ready to pop the question. So we'll see.

Rennie Gabriel  10:08
All right. Well, that's a tough story and something difficult to live with. And so I want to acknowledge you for the responsibility and having three children now that are, you know, on the right path. So congratulations for that. 

Lisa Rodino  10:27
Thank you. 

Rennie Gabriel  10:28
You're welcome. Well, let me ask you this, I'm going to guess that there are people who will want to get a hold of you, you know, to see if they qualify for the ERC, or they have some other funding needs. Is there some valuable resource or some way to connect with you that would support my listeners?

Lisa Rodino  10:48
Sure, they're welcome to give me a call at 516-268-0350 or I have a website that is www.fitu, and that's the letter u, finance.com.

Rennie Gabriel  11:08
Perfect. I'll put that in the show notes so that people can just click on it and get right to you. 

Lisa Rodino  11:16
Perfect. 

Rennie Gabriel  11:17
And is there a question that I should have asked you, that would also give some great value to those that are listening? 

Lisa Rodino  11:24
Well . . .

Rennie Gabriel  11:26
This is also on YouTube. 

Lisa Rodino  11:28
Okay. Another thing that we work on is, you know, are you an entrepreneur, just getting started in business? You know, let's make sure you are prepared to get and access funding that is right for you and affordable. Because I'm trying to change the face of alternative lending. There's, you know, many that are pushing very expensive and predatory products. I don't want to do that. You know, I want to find you the right solutions. And we have programs to help you learn to separate your personal and business credit. So that going forward, we can get you lines of credit, and help your business build its business credit, so that we don't have to lean so hard on personal credit. So you know, if you'd like to have that conversation, a little tip, don't give up your day job until you talk to me, so that we can get you on the right path.

Rennie Gabriel  12:21
Oh, terrific. Lisa, thank you for being on the Wealth On Any Income show.

Lisa Rodino  12:27
Oh, thank you for having me. This has been a pleasure. 

Rennie Gabriel  12:31
Great well, and to all our listeners, if you'd like to know how books, movies and Society programs you to be poor, and what the cure is, then log on to wealthonanyincome.com/TEDx. You'll hear my TEDx talk and can request the free 9-Step Roadmap to Complete Financial Choice® and Philanthropy, and receive a weekly email with tips, techniques, or inspiration around your business, or your money. And if you'd like to see how you can increase your wealth, and donate to the causes that touch your heart, please check out our affordable program, Wealth with Purpose. To my listeners. thank you for tuning in. You can listen to the Wealth On Any Income Podcast on your favorite platform. And please rate, review and subscribe. Until next week, be prosperous. Bye bye for now.


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